Vietnamese Braised Beef and Ice Cream Spring Rolls

It's been a wonderful food weekend. Sometimes, you bookmark a recipe that you just have to make as soon as possible. It happened twice this week! This is so rare that you'd think I'd win the lottery or something (which by the way, Lotto Max is still at a grand prize of 50 million with fifty 1 million prizes - come on ticket, just a measly million please).

The first one is from Steph's blog, i am a food blog, with her Vietnamese Braised Beef Taco post. If you know me, you know that I love tacos. Any given night if you ask me what I want to eat, it'll most likely be tacos (or sushi). So I went out and bought the 2 1/2 pounds of boneless chuck roast. Do you ever feel grown up going to the butcher? I do. I feel so much more like a cook when I get to unwrap the butcher paper and cut off the tied string. Or maybe I just like unwrapping presents.

Total aside and speaking of feeling like a grown up, I finally bought a new work bag. I've been alternating between my high school backpack and my weekend camera bag for my commute. But Howard finally said, enough is enough, and forced me to look professional. Thanks for looking out for me? Hahaha, it's a colour-blocked tote bag in light and dark camel. The best part is, the base is wide enough to fit my lunch box, which was my main criteria.

In other grown up news (geez, I'm all about growing up today), my maid of honour bought me an early wedding present last month and I used it for the first time today. Oh beautiful round cocotte, how I adore thee! I think I might like it more than my cast iron skillet, less oil splatter as I brown the meat.

So where are the tacos? Well, I did buy the tortillas, but at the last minute, I boiled some noodles to go with the Vietnamese braised beef. This way, I didn't waste any of that delicious juicy stew, the noodles soaked it all up and then it went in my belly. I hope you get a chance to try the recipe. It was quick and easy, just make sure you start in the afternoon and then let it braise until dinner time. You brown the meat, cook the onion, shallots, garlic, carrots, and tomatoes. Add the beef stock and then throw in more aromatics like star anise, cinnamon, five spice, bay leaves, and fish sauce. Then pop it in the oven for the flavour magic to happen.

Even though I took all the ingredients out, I forgot the brown sugar. It was sitting on the counter top and I was too lazy to take the cocotte out of the oven. But guess what? It came out tasty so I won't know what I'm really missing.

The second one is from Lady and Pups who posted Ice Cream-Spring Rolls with Ground Peanut Brittle. I've had this twice this weekend. Mainly because I have so much ground peanut brittle left over (am I not sprinkling enough on my ice cream?!?) and because it's freaking delicious. The crepes are so easy to make, it's only three ingredients! We have an assortment of green tea, mango, and red bean ice cream in the freezer - aren't those everyone's staples? Then we bought an assortment of mochi - green tea, strawberry, vanilla, and red bean.

The photo above is red bean everything - ice cream and mochi. Did you know that peanut brittle can be used for anything? Put it on fruit or try sprinkling it on savoury food. It should be the new condiment, sold with ketchup and mustard.

Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.
Peanut brittle.

You know that scene in Chef where he makes ground brittle and splashes it over the dessert? I now appreciate the beauty of that scene even more.

Chicago 2015: Day 3

Our last few days in Chicago didn't include a lot of sightseeing. I was at the convention center from nine to five and Howard chilled at the hotel and ventured out to walk the city. Sure, I had booth snacks like Garrett's popcorn to munch on, but my lunch that day included a small bowl of soup and a salad (trying to be healthy, especially when we're eating out so much!) from the McCormick Place food court. Pretty sad compared to Howard's lunch at Portillo's. He was actually on his way to Slurping Turtle for lunch when he saw a traffic jam and realized it was a line up for the drive-through! Curious, he went inside and decided to line up among the crowds to try the hot dog (with mustard, relish, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle, and sport peppers piled onto a steamed poppy seed bun) and sample their famous Italian beef sandwich. Mmm Mmm good was his mockery because he obviously won in lunch that day.

For dinner, we put our name down at the Purple Pig and went back to our hotel to wait for the call. It was roughly at an hour and a half wait, which was an accurate estimate giving to us by the hostess. We were seated at the banquet table by the bar among many other couples and groups having their dinner. The place is loud and crowded, the aisles are narrow and there are others waiting for their name to be called standing anywhere there's space.

This cheese, swine, and wine place has a large menu and our server helped us navigate with her favourites and recommendations.

To begin, we tried the roasted bone marrow with herbs. It also comes with toast for you to smear the bone marrow on and garnish with herbs yourself. I found the herbs the star of the dish, helping balance the buttery and oily bone marrow.

Next up, recommended by Howard's sister-in-law, the pig's ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers, and fried egg.

We give it a good toss and mix. The pig ears are crunchy and addictive and the kale add another layer of crispiness. It's a bit salty overall but as a shared dish, it's manageable to finish with a glass of water.

Squid stuffed with prosciutto and bread crumbs with a santorini fava purée and charmoula. I found this dish tasty, but Howard did not like it one bit, which surprised me because he loves proscuitto!

The Wagyu sirloin tip with fingerling potatoes, cippolini onions, olives, and a bone marrow vinaigrette. Now this was a dish I found nothing special with (compared to the squid above), but Howard enjoyed it. Just goes to show, you can't please everyone.

While our meal was good, I can't say I would recommend friends to eat here. My experience was also  dampened because of how crowded it was. I was sitting in one of the aisle seats and every time a server, waiting staff, busser, hostess, or guest walked by, I would be jolted in my seat. Not the best way to eat a meal when you're getting jostled every few minutes. This is a high-traffic area or I should just say the entire restaurant has high traffic but not everyone was getting bumped into. Curious, I tucked my seat in some more and looked behind to see if there was enough space. There was, except a couple was standing by the bar waiting for their table, making the aisle even more narrow. We informed our server who noted our discomfort, but then proceeded to do nothing. She didn't kindly ask the man to not stand in the aisle or wait elsewhere by the entrance. Shrug. Since no one cared enough, I didn't feel like staying for dessert even though I intended to try the bread pudding.

That night, it snowed and snowed in Chicago . . .

Southwestern Chili

What do you really want this Valentine's Day? A sexy, beautiful homemade treat or a hot and spicy, comforting bowl of chili? I choose comfy any day, in fact, I'm happily wearing sweatpants with fuzzy slippers and sporting a messy hair bun right now. Then, there's the delicious chili I made waiting for me to devour. I've tested this recipe twice so far, so I know it's a winner!

Southwestern Chili
Recipe adapted from Curtis Stone's What's For Dinner?
(Makes about 8 hearty bowls)

A handful of dried chili
8 garlic cloves, peeled
900 milliliters of reduced-sodium beef broth
Salt
2 pounds of lean ground beef
2 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 medium white onions, finely chopped
28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
2 19-ounce cans of red kidney beans, drained
Grated cheddar cheese
Chopped Scallions
Fries or tortilla chips

Boil hot water in a small saucepan.

I never actually measured how many dried chili I dump in this. It's roughly a handful or enough to fill a small bowl as seen in the photo above. I cut them in half and remove the seeds as well. There's still a very good spicy kick! If you love putting hot sauce and sriracha on your food, this is a good heat level. You can of course add more or less depending on your comfort zone. After the chili is prepped, put it in the saucepan with the hot water. Leave for 20 minutes so that chili softens. You can use a bowl or plate to place on top to keep the chili's submerged. During this time, peel your garlic cloves and chop your onions.

When the 20 minutes are up, place the beef broth, garlic cloves, chili, salt, and pepper in a blender, chop until everything is well blended. Set aside.

Place your pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Pour in the canola oil, once you see it shimmering, add the ground beef. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to scrape the bottom and break up the meat. Add in the cumin, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in the chili-garlic-beef-broth sauce, the tomatoes, and the vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer, uncovered. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low depending on how strong your stove is. Cook for an hour and fifteen minutes, stir occasionally. After half an hour, add in the kidney beans. Chili will thicken, best served hot!

Don't forget to garnish!!! Grate some cheese and chop up some scallions.

Make chili cheese fries by topping the fries with cheese and pour on some chili to melt it. Garnish with scallions.

Gooey goodness. I love melted cheese.

Or, serve with tortilla chips for dipping. Go Tex-Mex by garnishing with cilantro and avocado instead! I don't know what the weather's like where you are, but Toronto is going through a deep freeze, it's currently -17°C and it's supposed to feel like -40°C tonight. So warm up with a hot bowl of chili. This only takes 3 hours - tops - to make!

Vietnamese Beef Pho

You guys! I made pho tonight!!! Well, about 80% of it since I didn't make my own beef stock. But still, it's been on my list of things to try and I can now proudly say I did it. I recently got The Kitchn Cookbook and The Slanted Door and I've been tagging a lot of the Vietnamese food recipes. I feel that I should learn some of the basics since my dad is from there and recently came back from a trip to Vietnam. Also, it might end up saving me some cash because I love going out for pho!

This recipe is adapted from The Kitchn a bit. Mostly made changes in the toppings and garnish since I really wanted to focus on the broth.

Vietnamese Beef Pho Broth
Makes enough to serve 4

2 large onions, peeled
4-inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 three-inch cinnamon sticks
2 pieces of whole star anise
3 whole cloves
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
1800 milliliters of low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
3 carrots, peeled and chopped

Peel and quarter the onions and ginger. Set on baking tray and broil for about five minute, flip and broil again for another five minutes. We just want a slight char, so if you have an open flame, that works too (use tongs to hold onions and ginger).

Put the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and coriander seeds in a large pot over medium-low heat. Dry-roast it a bit and stir to keep them from burning. When the spices are aromatic, add in the beef broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, carrots, charred onions, and charred ginger. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover with lid, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

After, take out another pot, place a strainer or sieve over it to separate the ingredients. Keep the broth hot in this second pot until ready to serve.

I prepared some scallions, cilantro, limes, and quickly cooked the bean sprouts in boiling water. I'm not going to specify quantities here, it's up to you! I always need limes with my pho, so I get 3/4 of the wedges while Howard uses 1. He'd probably not use it but I'm trying to convert him into adding lime juice to the broth. I feel that it tastes so much better with that sour note.

I didn't want to buy a whole pack of Thai basil, but that's generally something I add to my pho as well. As for the boiled bean sprouts, that's something my parents do and we ask restaurants to do it as well when we eat out. I think it has something to do with their preference of cleaning the bean sprouts in a quick flash of hot water.

For the meat topping, we purchased rib-eye beef that's intended for hot pot, but works beautifully here as well. After you cook the flat rice noodle (vermicelli), place the thinly sliced beef on top. Don't worry that it's still raw. If you kept the broth hot enough, it'll be cooked in no time!

See? Pour the broth over to cook the meat and this will also keep the noodles from sticking together. Garnish to your taste. You can see my bowl on the right already has two squeezed lime wedges in it. If you need some spice, add chili or Sriracha.

Verdict? The broth wasn't like the restaurant versions - we're guessing they use their own beef stock and cook that broth for hours. We found that this smelled great and wasn't greasy at all. But if you like it clean and not salty, this is the one for you. In fact, it wasn't salty enough, so we might throw in a pinch next time. We usually feel incredibly thirsty after eating pho out, but this one caused no such desires. But Howard did wish that there was a mango smoothie to end the meal with. Hmph!